BADP2005 - City Design and Urban Ecology
City Design and Urban Ecology
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BADP2005 - City Design and Urban Ecology
Assessment 3: Critical Reflection
Introduction
Throughout the BADP2005 unit, I have engaged with various urban ecology concepts and
best-practice principles that would produce co-benefits, including improved ecological and
liveability outcomes. Correspondingly, I have advanced my skills in describing and evaluating
urban planning and design decisions against the concept of interrelatedness between
ecosystems and cities. As such, my foundational understanding of the interrelatedness principle
has allowed me to apply biodiversity-sensitive urban design (BSUD) and landscape-scale urban
design (LSUD) as a practitioner in training. Furthermore, I have also developed my
understanding of the responsibility and opportunity that urban professionals have in ensuring
sustainable urban development. In my future career, I aim to continue engaging and applying
design and planning concepts through an urban ecology lens.
Journal Entry 1 - LO1. Describe the interrelatedness between cities and ecosystem
services at a range of spatial and temporal scales
My understanding of the two-way interrelatedness between cities and ecosystem services has
developed immensely and changed how I perceive cities. In the week 1 reading, I learnt that
ecosystem services (ES) expand a wide range of spatial-temporal scales, with twenty-two types
of ES, including provisioning, regulating, habitat and cultural services (TEEB, 2010). The
extensive range of benefits described in the reading cultivated my appreciation for urban
ecology and the importance of ES for human health, wellbeing and livelihood.
Rather than viewing humans as separate from nature, I now see cities as
biological-physical-social entities whose actions affect ecosystems and their ability to provide
vital services (Douglas & Phillip 2016). It has become very apparent to me that cities must
consider how their development has consequences and we must recognise there are limits to
our resource use.
I also developed this understanding through the week 1 lecture and the concept of ‘ecology of
cities,’ which refers to cities as an ecosystem (Douglas and Phillip 2014). I found that Douglas
and Phillip's 'Cities as Systems' (2014) reading was particularly interesting as it examines how
cities are part of an urban metabolism with a range of inputs and outputs, many of which either
strengthen or threaten ecosystems. For example, the week 3 lecture discussed that population
growth and the increasing demand for land results in urban densification and sprawl at the
expense of vital ecosystems (Davies et al., 2017). This density results in limited habitat
availability for fragmented biodiversity which lacks connectivity (City of Sydney 2014).
However, the key concept I gained from the first 3 weeks was that cities can also be the solution
to enhancing urban ecology. I first gained this understanding through the concept of ‘ecology in
cities’ which refers to green space and non-human organisms in urban areas (Douglas and
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Phillip 2014) in combination with the concept of ‘ecology for cities’ which is the “application of
urban ecology to urban policy, planning, design and management” (Davies, et al., 2017). I learnt
that these concepts are manifested through strategic planning documents such as the ‘Blueprint
for Living Cities’ (2017), which proposes strategies to improve biodiversity and ES. This
document helped me understand that the first priorities should be to protect and enhance
existing ecosystems, then to create new ecosystems with a particular focus on green and blue
connectivity between fragmented habitats (Davies et al., 2017). For example, the vegetation
corridors at Banff National Park in Canada (fig 1). l ultimately learnt that these principles allow
cities to reap the benefits of the interrelatedness between cities and ES, rather than ignoring
and destroying the critical need for ES.
Fig 1: Jones, R, 2021, BADP2005 City Design and Urban Ecology, lecture 3: Planning for Sustainability + Ecosystem
Services, lecture PowerPoint slides, viewed 16 August 2021
Journal Entry 2 - LO2. Evaluate urban planning and design decisions against the
principle of interrelatedness, drawing from both academic and practice-based evidence
I significantly developed my ability to evaluate planning and design decisions when researching
for assignment 1. Drawing from the week 1 lecture, I found that the City of Melbourne’s Nature
in the City (NITC) Strategy actively incorporated ‘ecology in cities’ and ‘ecology for cities’ due to
their acknowledgement of the interrelatedness between their city and ES. For example, the
City’s urban forest consisting of 77,000 trees and thousands of plants ameliorate the air, which
is critical to people’s health in the city (City of Melbourne 2017). Similarly, the health of the City’s
ecosystems, including the woodlands of Royal Park and the wetlands and estuarine at Westgate
Park, are dependent on the City to conserve biodiversity (City of Melbourne 2017).
Furthermore, I found the reading from Woodruff and BenDor (2016), discussed in the week 3
tutorial, particularly helpful as it examined the American Planning Association (APA) Sustaining
Places plan evaluation guidelines containing 85 best-practices. Hence, I also concluded that
many of the targets in the NITC plan were somewhat vague, subjective and thus difficult to
measure. I drew this conclusion when reading about APA’s “accountable implementation”
criteria which ensures the plan’s strategies translate into action (Woodruff and BenDor 2016).
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Nonetheless, I realised that NITC strategy has various commendable attributes since it engaged
with interconnections between humans and nature through a holistic, bottom-up community
consultation process and community programs such as BioBlitz (City of Melbourne 2017).
I particularly enjoyed this learning outcome as I believe it will help me in my future career. The
assignment made me realise I find it interesting to influence urban ecology outcomes directly
through planning. The ability to assess urban planning decisions in order to improve
environmental, economic and social outcomes is valuable to me as an aspiring urban planner.
In the future, I endeavour to learn more about strategic planning to enhance sustainability.
Journal Entry 3 - LO3. Apply, at different spatial scales, urban design concepts which
incorporate beneficial ecological outcomes to improve urban liveability
My foundational understanding of the
interrelatedness between ecosystems
and human life assisted me in applying
urban design concepts that would
improve ecological and liveability. I
developed this skill when engaging with
content from lectures and applying them
to assignment 2. For example, I applied
LSUD principles from the week 5 lecture
given by Andrew Merchant. This
includes using “vegetation for climate
modification” to mitigate the urban heat
island (UHI) effect, “enhancing green
space connectivity” between Victoria
Park and Cadigal Green (fig 2), and
“incorporating structurally complex
vegetation,” through a diverse range of
native trees and understorey plants
(Merchant 2021).
Since the main theme of my assignment
was mitigating the UHI effect, the week
9 lecture by Abby Mellick Lopes and the Cooling the Commons Pattern Deck (Mellick-Lopes et
al., 2020) was invaluable in informing my design. This includes the remediation of ‘old patterns’
(fig 3) and the subsequent promotion of best-practice ‘coolth’ strategies including tree planting
for shade, green roofs and permeable pavements to reduce adverse heat-related impacts and
improve thermal comfort, wellbeing and liveability (Mellick-Lopes et al., 2020).
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I was also inspired by precedents discussed in the week 4 lecture given by Linda Corkery. For
example, Tanner Springs Park in Portland which integrates green and blue infrastructure to
provide co-benefits for stormwater management and overall urban sustainability and resilience
(Corkery 2021). Correspondingly, my assignment incorporated increased green cover to
“decrease rainwater runoff through interception, storage and infiltration, thus managing
stormwater and lowering the risk of flooding (NSW Government 2015)” (Lai 2021). However, I
found it challenging to further explore WSUD design principles in the project due to time
constraints as I was already addressing the three other themes. In future design projects, I
would like to apply additional WSUD principles discussed in the week 10 lecture and tutorial.
The City of Sydney’s Urban Ecology Action Plan (City of Sydney 2014) and BSUD principles
discussed in the week 11 tutorial and lecture given by Caragh Threlfall also allowed me to
understand that planning and design needs to accommodate specific ecological requirements
for targeted species. Correspondingly, in the tutorial, my group and I proposed design
techniques to support the Blue-Tongued Lizard species. This included designing rock features
and dense leaf litter to provide shelter and burrowing space for the lizards. As such, I focused
on supporting the superb fairy-wren species by proposing plantings of “dense shrubby
understorey, such as acacias, underneath Indigenous trees. This habitat would support the
superb fairy-wren by avoiding the Noisy Miner and other predatory birds (City of Sydney 2014)”
(Lai 2021). I ultimately realised that these ecological benefits of increased biodiversity would
also facilitate ecosystem services, including biophilic notions of physical and mental health.
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Hence, by recognising the interrelatedness between biodiversity and human life, I was able to
incorporate design techniques that also enhance liveability.
Correspondingly, I aimed to incorporate the ‘healthy built environment’ domains discussed in
week 9 lecture given by Jennifer Kent. This includes improving livability by “strengthening
communities” through co-management and provision of vibrant green space to facilitate social
interaction and belonging (Kent 2021). I also aimed to “support active lifestyles,” through the
provision of shade and vibrant greenery on key access routes to public transport (fig 4).
Fig 4: 2021, BADP2005, Assignment 2 Submission, p. 10
However, I noticed that sometimes urban ecology priorities such as structurally complex
vegetation could decrease usable public space for recreation. I realised that these sometimes
competing objectives are what urban professionals are challenged with daily. I also realised that
neoliberal urban professionals tend to believe that environmental goals are at the expense of
economic goals.
Nonetheless, the key point that I gained from this unit is that urban ecology and the ecosystem
services they provide can simultaneously improve liveability as it is interconnected with human
life. In my future career, I intend to work to dismantle reluctance against urban ecology by
engaging with sustainable development strategies. Although assignment 2 allowed me to
explore a small precinct scale, in future projects, I would like to explore different scales,
including lot-scale, community projects or master planning for regions similar to the Canberra
case study in the week 3 lecture by Rod Simpson.
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Journal Entry 4 - LO4. Identify and describe the influence, role, responsibilities of urban
professionals in city design using an urban ecology lens
Throughout the semester, I advanced my understanding of the responsibility and opportunity
that built environment professionals have in mitigating urban pressures and appreciating the
interrelatedness between ES and human wellbeing. I initially gained this understanding from the
week 2 sustainable urban development lecture given by Ryan Jones. He discussed the various
international, state and local strategic and statutory plans for urban ecology as well as six
design concepts and four models of urban form. Subsequently, I was able to apply the “passive
solar design” concept in my BAEN2002 architecture subject, where I optimised solar access
through ground cooling, a north-facing orientation and evaporative cooling through vegetation in
order to improve energy efficiency and reduce reliance on mechanical heating and cooling (fig
5). I ultimately realised that various disciplines within the built environment industry and beyond
have the opportunity to make a positive impact by incorporating an urban ecology lens in their
work.
This understanding was furthered when researching for assignment 1. For example, text by
Geneletti et al. (2020) allowed me to comprehend that “the provision of ES is dependent on the
availability and distribution of ecosystems, thus on planning land-use decisions (Langemeyer et
al. 2016, cited in Geneletti 2020)” (Lai 2021).
Nonetheless, another point that caught my attention was the lack of national leadership
regarding environmental sustainability in Australia. As explained in the week 2 sustainability
lecture, local (and state) councils subsequently have a large role and responsibility to ensure
improved ecological outcomes. In my future career, whether it is in urban planning, design or
architecture, I also have a responsibility to prioritise environmental outcomes as they ultimately
provide many ES that benefit all three pillars of sustainability, including ecological, social, and
economic.
Fig 5: , 2021, BAEN2002: Design Integration Lab: Energy, Assignment 3 Submission, p. 6
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Conclusion
Overall, I found this unit extremely enjoyable, informative and valuable. As a practitioner in
training, I have developed my ability to critically evaluate strategic planning and apply LSUD and
BSUD design concepts to improve urban ecology and human wellbeing. The various lectures,
tutorials, readings and assignments have ultimately changed how I perceive cities and liveability.
Through the interrelatedness principle, I came to understand that we need ecosystems, and
ecosystems need us. I learnt that although cities can be both the problem and solution to urban
ecology, built environment professionals have a responsibility to mitigate urban pressures,
appreciate the interrelationships between ecosystems and human life, and thus contribute to a
sustainable future. Moreover, this unit has also positively changed the way I perceive design in
my other architecture subjects. I am now able to think holistically about designs by employing
sustainable development techniques, including passive design to reduce impacts on the
environment. In my future career, I intend to dismantle reluctance against urban ecology by
appreciating ecosystem services and applying best-practice sustainable design. One of the
most interesting parts of the course was the Canberra case study lecture. I personally enjoyed
obtaining an in-depth overview of the particular challenges and solutions for the city. In the
future, I would like to further explore master planning a city for sustainability. The unit has
ultimately strengthened my passion for the built environment and improving urban outcomes
through a sustainability lens.